software update for iMac, 2013 running macOS Catalina

A 2013 iMac is obsolete by 2024 standards. It is obsolete as it cannot run current versions of Mac OS and Apple classed it as a Vintage Mac some years ago, Vintage meaning parts are not readily available.

In other words, you are a good candidate to purchase a newer Mac. If you are open to that suggestion, we can assist with what to get. For less than $1300 you can have a new Mac that will run circles around your 11+ year old machine.

teckla272 wrote:

I am unable to update google chrome on my mac because the iMac is still using Catalina 10.15.7 but i can't get it to do a software update because it says Big Sur is unavailable whenever i try in the App store.

It looks like Google has raised the requirements for the Mac version of Chrome to Big Sur or higher.

The current version of Brave – another Chromium-based browser – now requires Big Sur or higher .

The current version of Firefox – 132.0.2 – will run on Catalina .

teckla272 wrote:

I am curious what newer model imac you might suggest. Thank you!

Apple has discontinued the 27" iMacs.

There are 24" M4 iMacs with very nice 4.5K Retina screens – but they are 24" screens. You can get higher-end ones with

• Four Thunderbolt ports
• The ability to drive two external displays
• Up to 32 GB of RAM

– all of which are "firsts' for 24" Apple Silicon iMacs. But these iMacs still have plain M-series processors and 24" screens.

The other option is to pair a Mac mini or Mac Studio with a display or displays of your choosing. Apple just came out with new Mac minis with M4-series chips (plain M4 chips and M4 Pro chips). Low-end Mac Studios have not been updated to use M3 Max or M4 Max chips, so at the moment, it appears that in many circumstances, the M4 Pro Mac minis may be giving the M2 Max Mac Studios a run for their money.

Apple – Compare Mac Models – iMac (M4, two ports) vs. iMac (M4, four ports) vs. Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)

Weather displays have built-in Webcams, microphones, and speakers varies – so if you go with a Mac mini or Mac Studio, you might need to add those things separately from the display.

For most typical user that use their computers to do Web surfing, e-mail, some productivity apps such as Microsoft Office and some basic photo editing the new base M4 Mac Mini is really attractive. They now come with a minimum of 16GB of RAM which is fine for most of us, increase storage with a 1TB SSD (cannot be done after the fact) and add an external monitor and you are in business. You can use the 2013's keyboard and mouse so the display is all you need, they start at <$100 however for $300-$400 you can find a very nice one. The MM with the 1TB SSD and 16GB of RAM is $999 so for less than $1500 you have a really nice solution.

You can also extremely easily migrate from the old Mac to the new one by simply connecting the old Mac's Time Machine External Hard Disk to the new Mac. When you turn on the new Mac for the first time it launches Setup Assistant which will eventually get to a point where it asks if you are migrating from an old Mac, just select YES and follow the on-screen prompts and it will move all your data, apps (64bit only) and settings. You will likely need a USB to USB C adapter to connect the old TM's External Hard Disk which you can get from Amazon for less than $10 for a 3 pack.

Also, if you need to finance, Apple offers 12 month no interest financing which makes it pretty easy to afford if cash is an issue.

That model can't be upgraded past Catalina.

(256717)

Your welcome.